The 2-1 result[12] at the San Paolo means Napoli will go through if they beat Villarreal in Spain, a side that is propping up Group A with five consecutive defeats.

“We have another game and I think we should believe. I don’t think Villarreal will finish with 0 points and we have one more chance, though it’s clear it depends on the other team,” the manager told Sky Sports.

“I don’t think that we deserved to lose this game, but at the same time we have to think we can’t score three or four goals in each game.

“In the Champions League we conceded two stupid goals. The first, we knew Edinson Cavani was on the first post and in the second he was alone there.

“We wanted the win here because it is our mentality, but just because we lost tonight doesn’t mean everything is finished.

“This is football and this can happen in the Champions League. We have another game. Never say never.

“Cavani is a good striker who scored a lot of goals in Serie A and works for the team. He showed tonight he’s a very good player.

“It was strange, as after our equaliser we had two chances to go 2-1, so it was strange we conceded a goal after 10 minutes.”

Mancini was asked why he waited so long to introduce Sergio Aguero.

“We didn’t want to leave other space, but in the last 20 minutes we had four or five chances to score and their goalkeeper was fantastic.”

Manchester City’s final match is against Bayern Munich, who have already qualified, so they need to beat the Germans and hope Napoli do not get a victory at Villarreal.

“This is the first time we’ve played in the Champions League, but I don’t think Villarreal will lose another game. Why can they not get a draw?”